Why I left Weight Watchers new "Freestyle" Program
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Oh, WW, you always left me starving. I tried it for 2 months. I lost just as much as I do on MFP, but I was STARVING. Even with their stupid 0 point food, I didn't want to go crazy on it (because you know, calories), so I was also logging my food over here. The 2 months I was on it, I was eating between 1,000 and 1,200 calories on average. It was crazy. But over here, I am around 1500-1600 a day, which for being over 200 lbs, is good for me. Totally not worth it.
And Oprah loves to say you can eat bread, but they take away a lot of points if you eat carbs, so no.
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Quit a few weeks ago. I lost a lot of weight on the old plan 2011, 2012, (I think that was PointsPlus, which I really liked), but WW has lost their ever loving mind with this new plan. The whole point of WW plans in the past was that you could eat whatever you wanted as long as you fit it into the plan and counted the points. They did ding you for eatings things that weren't particularly healthy, like chocolate or candy or full fat ice cream, BUT you could eat and enjoy things like rice or bread or bacon without feeling penalized (by way of high points values) for eating those things. Freestyle takes all of that away. They'll pull 7 points a serving for something like rice and leave you with 16 points for the rest of the day. Yeah, no. I don't have a problem with eating healthy,but I combine healthy foods with other convenience foods and foods that I LIKE and I STILL lose weight because it's sustainable for my life. Freestyle had me starving myself and the scale didn't budge. Left WW and came to MFP and lost almost 10 pounds in about two weeks because I can EAT again and eat what I want. I feel sad that I had such great success on the old plan, but had to cut ties with WW because the new plan is completely unsustainable for my life.6
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Everyone is different so I wonder why they don't just keep the different systems and let everyone do whichever one they want but still keep the support meetings? Seems silly to me when the end result is really the same....portion control leading to weight loss. Honestly if they even still offered the calorie system for old school members in addition to all the points systems and covered all their bases they would make bank. I thought at one point that's what they were doing.
Unfortunately my problem with weight watchers was the same issue, everyone is different. Therefore not all of their local groups were the same. I had a group in Cali that was awesome and down to earth. When I moved it was run by a bunch of uppity fake snobs lol. I didn't care that alot of the members had less to lose but I was very obviously the biggest one there and they let me know it. I was even asked how I let myself get to that point. So I'm sure this little group was only for the "acceptably" over weight and they had chased everyone else off, lol. I'm alot older now and would probably have told them off and called corporate but this was years ago. But still was enough I've never even thought of going back.
MFP is great because you can do you, and pick who you click with for support.....and turn the computer off when people annoy the crap out of you
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I did exactly the same. I saw it for what it was a way to change the program again to get people to buy the new books and go to the new meetings.3
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Wait wait wait. I still think ww is insane for all the new zero point foods but are they still at least doing the thing where you only get to eat 5 zero point foods but then have to count any other zero point foods as points?
I’ve been on WW for 11 years (Lifetime for almost 10) But sorry I don’t know what you are talking about? Who told you that?...NO after 5, it’s still 0+0 five times = 0!
The Biggest problem with Freestyle is that they assumed people would use common sense, but they were wrong in many cases and it’s obvious why....
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I cannot ever knock WW. I lost 93 pounds over the years and am at goal. I love the meetings and the accountability of the weigh ins. I also love Freestyle. That being said, for my goals, right now calorie counting is probably more important than points. With Freestyle, you could actually be eating 2000+ calories and be way under on points. People are all different--some like the boundaries of points and a more rigid program, some like less tracking and find it easier to stick with the portion size and not log it (I am not one of them and had to adjust to freestyle in that I couldn't eat as much of something as I wanted). When a program stops working for you, or you don't like a product, or the taste of something, or the smell of something--as in anything that's for sale, don't use it. You voted with your pocketbook and that is great. More people who don't like Freestyle should vote with their pocketbooks. Calorie counting will always work. More in than out and you'll gain weight.
ps. I never bought their books, scales, or their foods. I also am in a location with a terrific leader. That makes all the difference in the world.5 -
The Biggest problem with Freestyle is that they assumed people would use common sense, but they were wrong in many cases and it’s obvious why....
I gained 6 lbs. on it the first 2 weeks. I even brought my food log into show a person at a meeting. They could not understand why I had gained 6 lbs. I was eating 0 point foods within reason, not eating my weeklies or my fit points. But, those free point foods added up and brought me over my TDEE.
What part of it is common sense? That I can eat a banana and it counts as zero points but that 100 calorie candy bar (about the same calories!) is 5 points? That is LACK of common sense and how weight loss actually works.
It
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I also left WW. Freestyle didn’t work for me and didn’t help me gain knowledge of portion control/size and gained Wright while on it. I’d rather pay premium for MFP than WW.1
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Same, I just left too! On the new system (with the foods I eat) I was going over by points and feeling guilty but when I actually calorie logged - I was only eating like 800-1,000 calories. I didn't like that at all because I was starving. I loved Smart Points and lost about 30 pounds with it. The new system just didn't work.3
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The Biggest problem with Freestyle is that they assumed people would use common sense, but they were wrong in many cases and it’s obvious why....
I gained 6 lbs. on it the first 2 weeks. I even brought my food log into show a person at a meeting. They could not understand why I had gained 6 lbs. I was eating 0 point foods within reason, not eating my weeklies or my fit points. But, those free point foods added up and brought me over my TDEE.
What part of it is common sense? That I can eat a banana and it counts as zero points but that 100 calorie candy bar (about the same calories!) is 5 points? That is LACK of common sense and how weight loss actually works.
It
Exactly if I don’t use WP or FP it only means that I’m eating lots of “0” and as we know NOTHING is really calorie free, it may work at first when you change your diet and eat better quality but when you have less to lose it’s not the same...
I lost most weight (40 lbs) when Bananas had 3 points, so that’s MY issue with Freestyle
And 6 lbs in 2 weeks??? That takes A LOT of over eating, If I could see your tracker I would know exactly why!
When I track points I don’t eat “Zeros” most of my food has points I use them all and I’m fine...I’m the one that will choose the cookie over the Banana if I want to because I know I can....0 -
I loved WW Flex Points system that they had 10 years ago. It was so easy and I lost so much weight so easily. I tried the program a year ago and was so turned off by how much it had changed. My beloved coffee creamer was only 120 calories but WW had it as 7 points! Didnt make any sense to me and was so discouraging I cancelled right then and went back to MFP.3
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hilaryhill wrote: »I loved WW Flex Points system that they had 10 years ago. It was so easy and I lost so much weight so easily. I tried the program a year ago and was so turned off by how much it had changed. My beloved coffee creamer was only 120 calories but WW had it as 7 points! Didnt make any sense to me and was so discouraging I cancelled right then and went back to MFP.
SAME! Flex was AWESOME! I lost 40lbs on that, why they keep changing it when it works is besides me, except to sell new books and foods....I lost over 100lbs on MFP two years ago but due to life stuff have gained 60 back. So today I'm starting again! Looking for new friends as well! Thanks for your post 1 -
Wait wait wait. I still think ww is insane for all the new zero point foods but are they still at least doing the thing where you only get to eat 5 zero point foods but then have to count any other zero point foods as points?
I’ve been on WW for 11 years (Lifetime for almost 10) But sorry I don’t know what you are talking about? Who told you that?...NO after 5, it’s still 0+0 five times = 0!
The Biggest problem with Freestyle is that they assumed people would use common sense, but they were wrong in many cases and it’s obvious why....
Yeah, that's what I was saying. You can get away with eating 0 point foods (now I'm not sure if it was 5 different foods or just 5 instances) but then you'd have to start assigning points to any 0 point foods eaten after that.
It may have just been a leader thing. I got all my info from message boards (including the actual Weight Watchers one).1 -
hilaryhill wrote: »I loved WW Flex Points system that they had 10 years ago. It was so easy and I lost so much weight so easily. I tried the program a year ago and was so turned off by how much it had changed. My beloved coffee creamer was only 120 calories but WW had it as 7 points! Didnt make any sense to me and was so discouraging I cancelled right then and went back to MFP.
Yes! My beloved coffee creamer was 7 points too! And I was in the WW FB groups seeing all these posts about alternatives to creamers and I was like wait. I NEED my International Delights Sweet Cream Creamer and I will not accept alternatives. Lol! So I kept using it but that 7 point ding at the beginning of the day just made no sense to me, it’s just CREAMER.
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The reason WW won’t work for me is the majority of the foods that I eat are on the 0 point list. I eat probably 1200 calories a day alone from then”0” point list.1
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JenLosesIt wrote: »hilaryhill wrote: »I loved WW Flex Points system that they had 10 years ago. It was so easy and I lost so much weight so easily. I tried the program a year ago and was so turned off by how much it had changed. My beloved coffee creamer was only 120 calories but WW had it as 7 points! Didnt make any sense to me and was so discouraging I cancelled right then and went back to MFP.
SAME! Flex was AWESOME! I lost 40lbs on that, why they keep changing it when it works is besides me, except to sell new books and foods....I lost over 100lbs on MFP two years ago but due to life stuff have gained 60 back. So today I'm starting again! Looking for new friends as well! Thanks for your post
Me three. Flex was terrific -- lost 50 pounds on it, got to goal and was Lifetime for about a year and a half. When I'd gained 15 pounds and had to go back on the full program, they'd changed to Points Plus which never worked for me. In fact, none of the other programmes they've had have worked as well for me as Flex -- or calorie counting.1 -
That would be amazing if you could considering no one at weight watchers could when they viewed it. I log everything and according to them I did not abuse the 0 point foods or "overeat".0 -
JenLosesIt wrote: »hilaryhill wrote: »I loved WW Flex Points system that they had 10 years ago. It was so easy and I lost so much weight so easily. I tried the program a year ago and was so turned off by how much it had changed. My beloved coffee creamer was only 120 calories but WW had it as 7 points! Didnt make any sense to me and was so discouraging I cancelled right then and went back to MFP.
SAME! Flex was AWESOME! I lost 40lbs on that, why they keep changing it when it works is besides me, except to sell new books and foods....I lost over 100lbs on MFP two years ago but due to life stuff have gained 60 back. So today I'm starting again! Looking for new friends as well! Thanks for your post
Me three. Flex was terrific -- lost 50 pounds on it, got to goal and was Lifetime for about a year and a half. When I'd gained 15 pounds and had to go back on the full program, they'd changed to Points Plus which never worked for me. In fact, none of the other programmes they've had have worked as well for me as Flex -- or calorie counting.
Flex and Momentum worked for me the best and after that I lost little with the program0 -
Reading all of these comments just reinforces what I've learned here and that is that weight loss plans are never one size fits all. Find what works for you personally and don't fret about the other plans. I left WW when Freestyle came out and started here and lost all the weight with MFP. It worked for me not because WW was bad but because it didn't fit me. I built a program that works for me. The upside of course is that MFP is free!6
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I had signed up for WW again but instead I am going to let the subscription expire (in two months). I have deleted the app and will count calories. I tracked my calories for a week while using WW and was eating on average 1,250 a day -- too low for me. I certainly don't want to wreck/slow down my metabolism. I also need to watch my carbs (was prediabetic last summer), and now my cholesterol (thinking too many eggs since going low carb last fall). I can't track these things on WW...so MFP it is. 1
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A good friend of mine had terrific success with WW when they used Smart Points, but got rid of the app when they started Freestyle, as it did not work for her. She suggest the app called iTrackBites which uses points based on the Smart Points system. It has a scanner, calculator and you can look up food. It's much cheaper than being a WW member.4
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hilaryhill wrote: »I loved WW Flex Points system that they had 10 years ago. It was so easy and I lost so much weight so easily. I tried the program a year ago and was so turned off by how much it had changed. My beloved coffee creamer was only 120 calories but WW had it as 7 points! Didnt make any sense to me and was so discouraging I cancelled right then and went back to MFP.
Same here. I wasn’t even trying to eat junk all the time. I just want the option to be able to have a donut or some steak or even a caramel macchiato without having to only eat 0 point foods the rest of the day. I actually gave them another chance even after I cancelled because of freestyle before because I saw that I was the problem. I was eating wayy above my weeklies and even fitpoints. However. When I came back ready to commit again i was reminded why I left and I left feedback to WW about all of this. I said 0 points does not mean zero calories and you trusted your members too much to be able to lean to 0 point foods all the time. If you love beans then you are going to eat more of that which is higher in calories. I love the reasoning behind it but the technicalities to apply it are flawed.
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zandrathesweetheart wrote: »hilaryhill wrote: »I loved WW Flex Points system that they had 10 years ago. It was so easy and I lost so much weight so easily. I tried the program a year ago and was so turned off by how much it had changed. My beloved coffee creamer was only 120 calories but WW had it as 7 points! Didnt make any sense to me and was so discouraging I cancelled right then and went back to MFP.
Same here. I wasn’t even trying to eat junk all the time. I just want the option to be able to have a donut or some steak or even a caramel macchiato without having to only eat 0 point foods the rest of the day. I actually gave them another chance even after I cancelled because of freestyle before because I saw that I was the problem. I was eating wayy above my weeklies and even fitpoints. However. When I came back ready to commit again i was reminded why I left and I left feedback to WW about all of this. I said 0 points does not mean zero calories and you trusted your members too much to be able to lean to 0 point foods all the time. If you love beans then you are going to eat more of that which is higher in calories. I love the reasoning behind it but the technicalities to apply it are flawed.
Totally agree... that was EXACTLY my argument. If I wanted to have a treat I'd be forced to eat zero point foods the rest of the day.. ridiculous... how is that FREESTYLE?1 -
Joining ex-WW group! I have lost quite a few kgs with them, but the idea in general seemed less and less healthy. A lot of these people are filling themselves up with chickpea and aspartame cakes only. And eggs. And banana and egg pancakes.1
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There are apps that allows people to follow Weight Watchers without paying for Weight Watchers. These apps include Ultimate Food Diary or itrackbites. I wouldn’t encourage anyone who is doing well on MFP to change, but if old WW worked, you can get it back.
I currently am doing well on my third week on WW Freestyle. I wasn’t on WW before, so I can’t compare it to anything. But I will tell you that if I had lost weight successfully using one system, I would probably be reluctant to change.1 -
I left ww for the same reason. Found mfp and when I actually stick to my KJ limit I lose weight. Without restricting myself to chicken breast!2
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I've gone back and forth with WW, but at the end of the day I find with as little as I have to lose to make goal, I can't eat enough to feel satiated and stay within my points. I like tracking calories.2
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I loved WW but its not restrictive enough for me as crazy as that sounds lol I also tried the keto diet which was too restrictive so a few weeks ago when I was at my Dr appointment I saw that they have a weight loss program and I decided to try it! Part of the plan is that you track everything that you eat and that’s what brought me here, it seems to be perfect for me and I’m doing very well by using this app2
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I do understand where you’re coming from. I was a WW member “way back when” 40 years ago when they had you track your food like MFP does now almost. You knew how much protein, fruit, carbs, fat, etc. you were having. Then they started changing to fat/fiber and to points. Seemed like they were getting real “gimmicky” - like the grapefruit diet or something. They made so many of the foods now 0 calories (or free) because they’re trying to encourage people to have more protein. The reason they made fruit free was because a banana would cost more points than an Oreo or two. SO, they made fruit free to encourage people to have fruit. They felt like it worked so they followed suit with the protein....trying to encourage people to eat protein instead of other stuff less healthy that’ll cost points.
I’m not a big fan of all that, but that’s not the reason I go to WW anyway. And I never got on the Connect site either. When I first joined, it didn’t seem like that many people used it, so I just never bothered with it.
I go to the WW meetings for accountability - some 3rd party person who can weigh me and not be all judgey like some in my family. I usually don’t stay for the meetings, but did last week, and someone got started on weight loss surgery and how it was an “easy way out” and that you don’t “learn how to eat right”. One of my pet peeves - people who talk out of their “back side”. Anybody who thinks WLS is a “magic bullet” is seriously misled.
I come here to log food and visit the community boards.5 -
Ugh. I’m over WW. I can’t stay within my Freestyle points even when I cut out the majority of the foods I ate when I lost 25 lbs on Smartpoints. I’m trying intermittent fasting and tracking calories to see if I have more success this way. Today was the first day of IF and it wasn’t really hard but I’m starting with 14:10 and working up to 16:8. I recently had hip surgery so I need to drop the 10lbs I gained from sitting on my *kitten* for 2 months while healing 🙁2
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